RALEIGH – The following are highlights from this week at the N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in
NCDOT Now, the department's weekly newscast.
Living Shoreline Completed at NC Coast
NCDOT continues its efforts to increase resiliency for the state’s highway infrastructure.
In a first of its kind project for the department, NCDOT and its partners have completed a living shoreline along N.C. 24 in Swansboro. The construction included removing stone and asphalt, restoring marsh vegetation, and installing an artificial reef, which in the coming months will bring oysters.
A natural design like this is not only more resilient during a storm, but also more cost-effective and sustainable.
“We want to have a transportation network that’s going to be here and be able to get people in and out and off the island and out of here when there’s hurricanes coming and things like that, but as well, we want to have that environmental sensitivity and create habitat and not be detrimental to the habitat," said Brian Lipscomb with NCDOT's Hydraulics Unit.
NC By Train Offers New Service and Discount
Celebrations are underway for NCDOT’s Rail Division service – NC By Train. This week, NC By Train added
another daily round trip between Raleigh and Charlotte.
“We are incredibly excited for today, starting five trains - each way, every day between Raleigh and Charlotte and places in between - providing more options for our customers to get where they need to go and to use the train even more effectively than they do today," said Rail Division Director Jason Orthner.
To celebrate the launch, riders can get
50% off regular adult tickets on all Piedmont and Carolinian routes in North Carolina through the end of July.
For more information, including the new daily schedule and to book your next trip, go to
NCByTrain.org.